Sam Worthington in Macbeth
EVERYBODY wants to take a stab at Shakespeare.
Mel Gibson gave us his Hamlet. Kevin Kline revealed his Bottom (sorry) and even Mel Brooks uttered the immortal words: "To be or not to be." After 400 years, the Bard can withstand any kind of manhandling - even a dire new version of Macbeth.
Director Geoffrey Wright relocates the Scottish play to the gangland conflicts of contemporary Melbourne but retains an edited version of Shakespeare's words. The result is an awkward, unpersuasive hybrid that feels like the kind of fringe theatre production, where you sneak out the back door rather than suffer any longer.
Sam Worthington as Macbeth adopts the look and manner of a second-division rock star, with the three teenage witches coming on strong like randy groupies. The themes of betrayal, murder and fatal ambition remain the
same as Macbeth starts to cast an envious eye at the empire of crime boss Duncan (Gary Sweet) and feels an intense jealousy towards his son Malcolm (Matt Doran). Lady Macbeth (Victoria Hill) is a coke-snorting
minx who urges her husband on to his dark and bloody deeds.
None of the performers seem particularly at ease with the Shakespeare text, which may explain why Wright lavishes so much attention on the visual look of a movie that feels like a mixture of lurid Hammer horror and some demented
pop promo. There's enough flickering candles, billowing dry ice and impenetrable gloom on show here to serve an entire Meatloaf album.
There are some effective moments, mostly involving brutal violence and bloodshed but, essentially, this is a brave experiment that completely backfires. By the pricking of my thumbs something awful this way comes.
Director Geoffrey Wright relocates the Scottish play to the gangland conflicts of contemporary Melbourne but retains an edited version of Shakespeare's words. The result is an awkward, unpersuasive hybrid that feels like the kind of fringe theatre production, where you sneak out the back door rather than suffer any longer.
Sam Worthington as Macbeth adopts the look and manner of a second-division rock star, with the three teenage witches coming on strong like randy groupies. The themes of betrayal, murder and fatal ambition remain the
same as Macbeth starts to cast an envious eye at the empire of crime boss Duncan (Gary Sweet) and feels an intense jealousy towards his son Malcolm (Matt Doran). Lady Macbeth (Victoria Hill) is a coke-snorting
minx who urges her husband on to his dark and bloody deeds.
None of the performers seem particularly at ease with the Shakespeare text, which may explain why Wright lavishes so much attention on the visual look of a movie that feels like a mixture of lurid Hammer horror and some demented
pop promo. There's enough flickering candles, billowing dry ice and impenetrable gloom on show here to serve an entire Meatloaf album.
There are some effective moments, mostly involving brutal violence and bloodshed but, essentially, this is a brave experiment that completely backfires. By the pricking of my thumbs something awful this way comes.
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